Guest Editorial-Sheriff Jim Crone

Posted:
02/05/2013 04:35:29 PM MST

Updated:
02/05/2013 04:36:19 PM MST

I have been asked by a number of county residents to provide my opinions on the current gun control and gun violence issues at the forefront, certainly in Colorado, if not the nation.First and foremost, I took an Oath of Office, sworn before God and those people present, in a public ceremony, to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the laws of and Constitution of the State of Colorado. I have taken this oath four times after having been lawfully elected by the citizens of Morgan County, as your County Sheriff.Next to my vows when I married my beautiful wife, there is no stronger binding obligation than my Oath of Office as County Sheriff. And I do not need to take any other organization's oath or pledge, nor be a member of any other association to “affirm” my Oath or be some kind of “bona fide” Sheriff.I have served the citizens of Morgan County since 1977, both as a peace officer and a paramedic. Not all would agree with every decision I have made and I have certainly made my share of errors and wrong decisions in my career. However the people of this County have elected me as their Sheriff and then re-elected me three more times. My bias aside, I think the People of this County are solid, down to earth Godly folks who seem to be a lot more in touch with reality than other parts of our country.

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They have kept me in Office because apparently they trust me in the decisions I, and my very capable staff, do every day.I have worn a badge for some 33 years now and experienced the changes and trends in criminal activity in Morgan County and northeast Colorado. I have received specialized training in violent crime and offenders from some of the top names in the business and have spent many hours talking to offenders learning why they do what they do and what makes them tick. Some of them have left physical scars on me and I admittedly have left my share on them.Though we are fortunate to live in a county without a lot of serious violent crime, I have responded to or investigated more shootings, stabbings, sexual assaults and serious physical assaults than I can remember, and now direct my staff as they do the same. All of my experiences have allowed me to experience first-hand what we as a society, especially here in Morgan County, face today. I am not endorsed by the courts as an expert in any topic, but I feel I can truthfully speak as to violence, at least in the area I live.So agree with what I write below, or not, it is not politics, it is how I feel, and where I stand, as your County Sheriff.MY OPINIONS;1. Gun VIOLENCE will not be solved through more laws, banning of firearms, whether they be current legal assault rifles, or the banning of high-capacity magazines. 2. There ARE adequate laws on the books which cover the ILLEGAL carrying, use or possession of firearms. 3. Either make schools much more secure or allow school staff, or other designated people, to carry firearms to protect their children and teachers. I prefer a mixture of both.4. Those who MURDER, especially where a child, the elderly or the defenseless are involved, or there is a sexual component to the murder, should be put to death, PERIOD.

VIOLENCEI could speak for hours and write pages as to why WE have violence in America, and why it seems to flourish, so I won't even go there. Erosion of the family unit, becoming too much of a permissive society, and perception of entitlement of one who lives in a free society (“I have the RIGHT to do….” most anything they want, right or wrong). We reap what we sow.

LAWSAs I mentioned above, our society also seems to have reached the point where the blatant disregarding of rules and laws (yes, even some of those which seem petty), means nothing because punishments don't fit the crime. Law enforcement arrests/charges offenders for the unlawful use, possession and carrying of legal firearms, however these offenses end up being bargaining chips and offenders seem to be rarely held accountable for weapons violations. We fail to punish adequately those who do the most harm to our citizens, especially our children and seniors. The deterrence of the law for many offenders is thus, lost.I truly feel the restrictions against firearms, or banning them outright, only serves the criminal element and holds a law abiding society hostage. I will admit I have mixed feelings about expanding background checks. However this I am certain of … criminals and those who wish to obtain a gun for ill intent, will, and DO, despite ANY law on the books. That is why they are criminals. However, there DOES need to be a better system of identifying people with SIGNIFICANT mental health issues or concerns. Mental health is a medical issue when it comes to confidentiality but there can be reasonable legislation which will allow the identification of people who pose a risk to the public and DENY them a legal attempt to purchase a firearm. There a MANY people out there we (law enforcement and the general public) know are “ticking time bombs” who have never had a serious criminal arrest record or involuntary mental health holds, which would show up as a disqualifier when buying a gun. I think we in law enforcement are very much in touch with who those people are, and there should be a system which allows us to make an entry or referral to reasonably prevent a transaction to someone who should not have a gun, without infringing on a person's civil liberties.SCHOOL SAFETY Every educator, school board member, or parent who cares about their children in school, should read “Terror at Beslan: A Russian Tragedy with Lessons for America's Schools. I am not into hype and conspiracies, but I have learned enough from those “in the know”, that terror lurks for Americans, right here at home – terror which is above and beyond Columbine, Jonesboro, Virginia Tech, Aurora, and Sandy Hook. We as law enforcement and your local schools have taken strides to evaluate the physical security and procedures within our halls of education to protect our babies when we send them from our nests to educate them beyond what we as parents and grand-parents teach. But it's not enough. We as Americans must realize the vast oceans no longer protect us from an evil we have only read about, but not experienced first-hand. As much as we want our schools to be fixtures of hope and community in our towns and neighborhoods, we need to start looking to make our schools more resistant to those who have, and will continue, to target our babies.State law should be changed to allow school boards to make their own decisions about whether to, or not, allow firearms (with a concealed carry permit or by persons authorized/designated) on their property, in their buildings, and on their busses. We will not stop violence overnight but in the past 50-some years, I am not aware of ANY person who has been killed by fire in a school. Yet we have fire extinguishers throughout the school.While I don't advocate a “break in case of emergency” case containing a Glock above every fire extinguisher in every school hallway, we are foolish and irresponsible to not allow willing, responsible, and trained persons to provide ready defense of a school. For God's sake, child molesters and drug dealers getting their constitutional due process within the Morgan County Justice Center have better protection than our kids!!!And when asked, the Morgan County Sheriff's Office will provide training to those people your child's school chooses to protect them. I trust that training when my deputies "have my back" and I will pledge that training will ensure others will do the same for your kids.I will end with that. I have probably spoken more than most people want to hear and some will say I didn't say enough about what they want to hear. And I have yet to speak my mind about how we as a community can make some changes right here at home, but that is a topic for later.Our country and our society are very divided over the above issues. I have more questions than I will ever have answers. But I pray those who will make these important decisions which affect us, do so with the best interests of all of the People they serve, not just the vocal few.God Bless America – He has, but we need it now more than ever.

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